Iraqi terrorists enter Gaza as conflict with US wanes

A growing number of Islamic terrorists previously engaged in violence against US forces in Iraq are now making their way to the Gaza Strip, Israeli defense officials told Ha'aretz.

Dozens of these militants are believed to have entered Gaza in recent months, and are behind many of the most recent attempts to cause another flare-up between Israel and the Hamas-ruled territory.

One such attempt involved a small group of foreign Sunni Muslim terrorists sending booby-trapped horses toward Israeli troops stationed at one of Gaza's border crossings. The attack was thwarted, but it highlighted the growing local activity of groups identified with the "Worldwide Jihad."

Israeli defense officials said that as US President Barack Obama winds down his nation's involvement in Iraq even before terrorist forces there have been defeated, they fully expect most of those terrorists to move on to other hotspots in the region, primarily Gaza and southern Lebanon.

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